So here's a fun way to pitch a president: bring him a fake newspaper.

That's what New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani did during a surprise meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday. The mayor, looking to discuss potential housing investments, presented a mock front page with the headline "Trump to City: Let's Build."

It was a clever, media-savvy twist on a famous piece of New York history. The original 1975 New York Daily News cover, "Ford to City: Drop Dead," referred to President Gerald Ford's pledge to block federal aid to the financially struggling city. Mamdani's version flipped the script into a call for collaboration.

After what he called a "productive meeting," Mamdani posted on X, "I'm looking forward to building more housing in New York City."

The proposal on the table is no small thing. Mamdani's plan aims to build 12,000 affordable housing units at Sunnyside Yard in Queens. The price tag? More than $21 billion in federal funding. City officials say the initiative could create 30,000 jobs, making it the largest housing and infrastructure investment in New York in over half a century.

The mayor's pitch included calls for better financing tools to boost affordable housing, protect existing public housing, and streamline regulations to speed up construction—all without, he emphasized, compromising labor standards or cutting out community input.

According to Anna Bahr, Mamdani's communications director, Trump was "very enthusiastic" about the proposal. Both sides agreed to keep talking in the weeks ahead.

The meeting wasn't just about bricks and mortar. Mamdani also reportedly brought up the case of Ellie Aghayeva, a Columbia University student detained by federal immigration agents. Trump assured the mayor that Aghayeva would be released following their discussion.

From Name-Calling to Negotiating

This Oval Office chat comes after a previous meeting back in November, where Trump congratulated Mamdani on his election win and reportedly urged him to come back with specific proposals for major development projects in the city.

That first meeting was notable because it happened after a very public war of words. Trump had repeatedly labeled Mamdani a "communist," while the mayor had called the president a "fascist." Since that initial sit-down, however, relations have been described as cordial.

Mamdani's push for a massive federal housing investment is a major move in tackling New York City's affordability crisis. It also comes on the heels of other tough fiscal decisions. Just last week, the mayor proposed a 9.5% property tax hike and a potential draw from the city's rainy day reserves as a last resort to address a $5.4 billion budget gap.

So, a mayor once called a communist walks into the Oval Office with a fake newspaper to ask a president he once called a fascist for $21 billion. In New York City politics and real estate, the storylines are never boring.